Top of the Mountain

We were living in an incredible time. Industrial civilization, as it was referred to, was fueled by the fearsome energy of a younger sun. As a species we had never produced so much oil. We were burning around 84million barrels every day; more than would ever be possible again. A small portion of the species had easy access to global travel. These were referred to as “tourists”. They were everywhere.

The exhaust products of industrial energy production billowed into the surrounding waterways and entered the food chain in unprecedented levels. However in one particular place the government executives, perhaps considering their relationship to the energy industry decided to forego testing levels and instead, based on data from 40 years prior, declared no problem. “Go fish!” They announced. We can imagine the following odd exchange taking place.

Birds, which had fed on fish contaminated with this toxic detritus, went insane. Migratory patterns, nesting, reproductive and feeding habits became…distorted.

This was one small piece of a puzzle that humans had been studying for many years. The colossal Faustian experiment we had unwittingly been a part of was beginning to manifest itself visibly.

People became sick, no one could figure out exactly why.

It was a bummer.